Subject:
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Lego for Africa
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Wed, 1 Aug 2001 16:44:38 GMT
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Highlighted:
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Hi!
SchoolNet Namibia (www.schoolnet.na) is actively involved in rolling out
Information and Communication Technologies to disadvantaged schools on a
national basis, offering various low cost solutions to allow youth empowerment
through internet.
At this stage we have NGOs in USA, UK and Sweden collecting older, redundant
computers (486DX, PI and now PII) from corporates which are then shipped to
Namibia where our "kids on the block" volunteers (age 17 - 23 yrs old)
refurbish, install freeware (NewDeal on older boxes, Linux + KDE on newer boxes)
and deploy these computers to schools in need. The kids provide peer-to-peer
training, and we have a centralised help-desk for after-service support. We
have 1519 schools in Namibia, of which 924 schools do not have telephones,
electricity, libraries or even basic toilet facilities!
One glaring realization that has been largely overlooked in donor computer
projects in developing countries is the fact that there are virtually NO pro-
active formative education tools offered to the pre-primary and primary schools
- while there are probably several
metric tons of unused lego in every 10 square kilometres of first world urban
basements and attics, there are virtually NO lego building blocks in ANY
developing country school!
I strongly believe that building blocks like Lego play a crucial role in helping
children to think laterally, and allow for greater multi-dimensional thinking
and concept building - while I would also like to see 20 chess boards in each
school in Namibia, and paper-airplane models at large, I'm afraid we're simply
not generating enough local GEEK to create our own information technology
recruitment pool (85% of IT industry in Namibia is ex-patriot). I believe that
the current profile of computer GEEK world-wide, is strongly correlated with
formative education which includes Lego, duplo, mechano, paper airplanes and
chess. If anyone has an opposing view, please let them enter dialogue with me:-
)
Why am I writing to you? You take lego for granted. Lego blocks, like
computers, are verrrrry expensive, and are therefore outside the reach of most
developing country people who, on average per capita, earn less than one US
Dollar per day! I would dearly like to see the reaction of this readership to
this letter in activating them to initiate a second-hand lego collection
programme at schools in first world countries for distribution to developing
countries. The NGO's who presently ship computers to us, use BUBBLE-PLASTIC to
pack these boxes - I believe that we can kill two birds with one stone, if they
start using Lego blocks as packing material instead - we don't need first-world
bubble-plastic to mess up our local environment anyway. Let's rather use Lego,
and allow for this lego to be distributed to pre-primary and primary schools in
Namibia, as a test-bed for further development in this sector.
We do not want new Lego - we want any old lego blocks which are currently
gathering dust from some 40 years' worth of generational fun and games in first
world attics and basements! Can you help ??
Please respond to this email if you have any ideas which will help expedite this
programme.
If you have lego blocks, and you live in the UK, please send these to Tony
Roberts, Computer Aid International, Unit 114 Belgravia Workshops, 159
Marlborough Road, London, N19 4NF, UK. (Tel: +44 (0)20 7281 0091) Email:
tony@computeraid.org. He'll know what to do with them! We will shortly be
identifying Collection Depots in Sweden and USA, and will post this readership.
Best regards
Joris Komen
Director SchoolNet Namibia
joris@schoolnet.na
+264 - 61 - 29 34 301
+264 - 81 124 42 00 (mobile)
http://www.schoolnet.na
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Lego for Africa
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| "Joris" <joris@schoolnet.na> wrote in message news:GHEEIE.IGo@lugnet.com... (...) first (...) Wow cool....this sounds like a neat opportunity :-) Joris - I really enjoyed reading your message and think that you have a great idea and goal for your (...) (23 years ago, 1-Aug-01, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Lego for Africa
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| Can we just give you new Lego? Among adults who keep Lego, it's not uncommon for a bucket to fill up with new, common Lego elements that are left over. On the other hand, adults can be fond of really old parts... Anyway, this is a great idea. (But (...) (23 years ago, 1-Aug-01, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Lego for Africa
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| (...) snip (...) snip (...) Hi, I think this is a great idea, and I agree that Lego play does help to develop 3-d thinking, and I am even willing to donate some of my old Lego Bricks. I do have one problem with this tho, you mention packing old (...) (23 years ago, 2-Aug-01, to lugnet.general)
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